Once Again, Natural Pain Relievers Tip The Scale

This site has recommended the use of natural pain relievers time and time again. It may sound like a broken record, but it is becoming more evident, even in medical circles, about the dangers of the prolonged use of pain relief medications. Here’s an article from the site Medical News Today that expands on this concern …

Codeine is a weak opioid used in many combination pain relief products, but its role in managing acute pain is questioned in this month’s edition of Australian Prescriber.

In the article Dr Bridin Murnion, from the Drug Health Service at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney, discusses the evidence around combinations of different painkillers in the same tablet (eg. ibuprofen or paracetamol with codeine). She argues that in many cases pain relief is not increased by using two different painkillers.”

The article mentioned how drugs used for pain relief, if misused (i.e., overused), can be additive or may cause liver or stomach damage. Note, several times in the article, they mentioned the agency NPS. According to the NPS site, NPS is the “Quality Use of Medicines service agency for Australia’s National Medicine Policy”, which is an “independent, not-for-profit organisation funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing”. The mission of NPS is to “support the best use of medicines to improve health and well-being”.

And that being said, the NPS view is that if pain relief drugs (e.g., codeine, NSAIDs – aspirin or ibuprofen) are overused, there are dangers of serious side effects for the human body, which can lead to gastric ulcers and even death. So this truly brings home the idea that natural pain relievers are the way to go.